———
"Only the strongest rule the land…"
–Rokumani no Hakushin
———
Izayami crashed onto the battlefield, the impact carved out a crater into the earth—drawing every nearby Gravemaw's attention. Dust particles rose from below, smells of the rotten pierced through his nose.
Surrounded by monsters Izayami stood firm. With piercing eyes, he calculated every possible attack where each calculation ended in a fatal blow carved into his enemies.
The wrenched beings voraciously made their path to Izayami—seeing him nothing more than a fine dessert. Any obstacle that was in its path was ignored. Their minds only focused on devouring him.
[Omniblade – Form of Scythe]
He now mastered the blade that was forged from every myth, honed by chaos. Its form was freely designed by the user's imagination.
Izayami breathed calmly and with a single swing, his scythe carved terror—every Gravemaw within reach lost their heads in an instant. Their lives began to fade away as blood gushed out from its body.
The abominations began to hesitate, their movements faltered. From now on, the table had flipped—they are the ones being hunted.
Izayami rested his scythe on his shoulder. "Hesitate all you want but your death is inevitable." Then he charged at them with fury in his eyes. Many innocent lives were saved as he preyed upon the monsters.
———
🔥 Piercing Battle
While Izayami dived into the swarm, elsewhere in the city another clash shook the earth. Chief Haruza was exchanging punches with a man wreathed in fire. Their battles wreaked havoc on the land—each strike was devastating.
Yurina made her way to the city, only to be ambushed by another abomination. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" She roared and clenched her fist before hammering it down.
Haruto grabbed her arm, holding her back. "WAIT!" Then he pulled her away from the monster trajectory. The creature unleashed its breath of lightning—everything in its path was demolished, including its own kind.
Haruto's gaze turned to the monster. "This is no ordinary Gravemaw." He paused and continued. "Its structural body was more humanoid and enhanced with rune stones giving it the title Gravers"He explained to her.
She looked at him disbelieved. "First time seeing one… thanks for the info." A grin sculpted on her face. "but its attack was nothing compared to mine." then she unleashed her ability.
[Dragon Breath – Eternal Flame]. Yurina released a breath of true flames, reducing the Gravers and any surrounding Gravemaw to ashes. Black smoke took its form from the burning flesh.
Haruto jested. "To think that you still had your blazing spirit after centuries." a voice muttered from his lips. "it seems I have underestimated you, Queen of Dragons." he admitted, conceding his misjudgment.
"It is not that long actually." Yurina's tone laced with a hint of pride. "but I will take that as a compliment.
FWOOOOSHHH!
Something shot past them, splitting the air with sheer force and kicking up clouds of smoke.
When the smoke cleared, the figure standing before them was none other than Chief Haruza—badly wounded and unconscious.
"Well… well." The atmosphere instantly changed while the air suddenly felt heavy. "What do we have here?" a voice slithered through the silence, cold enough to send chills down their spines. A shadowy figure that looked like a man emerged towards them but none dared to even look at him.
"What is he doing here?" Haruto screamed in his thoughts. "another miscalculation?"
The man gave an unpleasant smile as he pointed his finger downwards and whispered.
[Combustion Nova] Every fire particle in the area detonated violently, ripping the earth apart—reshaping the battlefield to his will. The lands trembled while the sky wept before the mass destruction.
Haruto sensed the upcoming threat and rushed to Yurina's side, before his hands slammed to the ground. [Lucid Dream – Creation] A barrier of obsidian walls erupted before them in a shape of a cocoon, shielding them both from the chain of eruptions.
———
Behind The Shadows
From the shadows of the ruins, a hooded man observed the chaos in silence. His eyes glimmered faintly beneath the veil.
"Sigh… how annoying," he muttered, his voice laced with arrogance, yet calm as if the destruction before him was nothing more than a trivial inconvenience.
Without another glance, he turned away. His cloak trailed behind as he vanished into the darkness, slipping through a hidden passage that led deep into the sewers—toward something only he sought.
———
❄️ The Presence of An Apostle
Back at the battlefield, the lands had turned into an ocean of flames. The Obsidian Wall began to melt, chunks of black stone dripping like wax into the inferno. The heat suffocated their lungs, making breathing impossible.
[True Rewrite: Conceptual Override ]
Object: Fire
Current Concept: Blazing
Rewrite: Ice
For an instant, the fiery inferno froze into sculpted ice. The temperature dropped and cold winds swept through the battlefield, carrying with it the silence of winter.
Izayami marched from the ruins, each step echoing with unyielding resolve. The man grinned, amused by what seemed heroic, but was utterly foolish.
Haruto breathed heavily as he lowered his Obsidian Wall, the black stone crumbling away into dust. Yurina coughed as she gasped for fresh air. They looked at each other before their eyes locked on Izayami only a few steps before the man.
Izayami tipped his scythe towards the man. "Who are you, and what's your business here?" he demanded, his voice edged with rage.
The man burst into laughter. "Hmph… KHHHHHH-HAAAHAHAHAHAAA!" his laughter echoed like thunder, shaking the air by his presence.
Izayami with anger hurled his scythe toward the man, the blade spinning through the air like a crescent moon of death.
He effortlessly dodged and glanced at Izayami disgusted. "A mere mortal dares to challenge me? how foolish of you. "
Yurina stood up as her will adapted to the sudden change of atmosphere. "Be careful, Izayami." She picked up a sword from the ground nearby, it must belong to one of the adventurers. "…he's an Apostle."
Haruto rolled his eyes. "An annoying one to be exact." his voice danced with irony.
Rings of lightning started to take a form circling the apostle as he introduced himself. "Untouched by mortals.
Unbound by fate." he grinned, flames engulfing his fist.
The air thickened around him. "I am the storm that drowns the world, the fire that devours kingdoms, the stone that crushes hope, and the wind that erases names." the intense pressure tore open a ravine as the ground shook.
Thick vines like tentacles burst behind his waist. "I am not nature's wrath. I am nature's correction. They call me a monster… but I am far more." his transformation was an unstable, yet menacing form.
Storms thundered in the sky, begging for mercy. "I am the walking disaster. I am the embodiment of all nature." everyone was preparing for the worst.
"I am the Apostle of Elements." his voice whispered arrogantly through existence. The sky darkened beneath heavy clouds, and rain began to fall
———
💀 Walking Disaster
A sudden memory jolted Haruto. "Shit!" his face darkened just before he roared. "TAKE COVER—NOW!!" a warning that caught Izayami off guard.
The man whispered, almost tender. "…too late…" then he snapped his fingers.
[Spiral Cataclysm – activate]
The skies thundered with a voracious fury, chains of lightning crashing down as the rain poured in their wake. The earth trembled violently, jagged spikes lancing upward from the ground.
From the rifts, thorned roots and colossal vines surged forth. In the storm's heart, hurricanes of fire twisted into form, tearing buildings apart in their blazing wake.
From that moment on, survival became impossible. The destruction alone is enough to compare the difference in power. Combustion Nova was nothing compared to Spiral Cataclysm. It seems the Apostle was merely showing his true abilities.
———
📄 End of Chapter 7
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